The Club
by irish
Summary: Cade Foster investigates a youth club that part of an alien experiment.


Disclaimer: - First Wave title and characters are the property of First Wave Productions and Pearson TV. Cade Foster, Crazy Eddie, The Gua and other references from the TV series are the property of Chris Brancato, Larry Sugar and Francis Ford Coppola. Elizabeth Baker and the rest of the characters as well as the plot belong to me and will not be used without my permission. (irish - August 2000).  
  
Notes:- This story is part of The Fair Maiden series of stories which has Elizabeth Baker helping Cade and Eddie to expose the alien conspiracy. If you don't know who she is then read The Fair Maiden which is posted here.  
  
Time Frame:- Sometime after Normal, Illinois in the second season.  
  
The Club  
  
Prologue  
  
Elizabeth Baker was finishing up for the day at the Ohio Chronicle newspaper office. She had been waiting all day for a phone call from a source that was going to give her details of a story she was working on. She let out a big sigh as she picked up her briefcase and began to put all her belongings into it.   
"Liz, we are all going over to Mc Clintocks for drinks now. Are you coming?" asked her friend Casey.  
Liz turned around and smiled "No. I am going home, I'm going to put my feet up and open a bottle of wine."  
"Bad day?" asked Casey.  
"I've had better. I've been waiting for Adams to call with that quote but he hasn't," replied Liz.  
"Hey, has any one heard from Jake lately?" asked Nick, one of the paper's photographers.  
Jake was one of the messenger boys for the paper.   
"No. I've been out of town all week." Liz said. She had just arrived back late the night before. She had been working with Cade Foster on an investigation to expose the alien conspiracy. She was finding it exhausting. As well as her work on the newspaper she also had to report their findings to the Chronicle as well as doing a story for The Paranoid Times.  
"Nobody has seen him in nearly 2 weeks," Nick said.  
"Has he called in?" asked Liz.  
"No," replied Nick.  
"You know what he is like, he is probably coming down off a high somewhere," Liz said.  
"Yeah you are probably right," replied Nick. "Are you coming over?"  
"No, early night for me," Liz said.  
"You work too hard, Liz."  
"Tell me about it," replied Liz.   
"I'll call you later," Nick said going out the door.  
"Sure," smiled Liz.  
Liz's office phone rang. This was probably the call she was waiting for. She answered it.  
"Liz," said the voice.  
Liz frowned as she recognised the voice.  
"Will you meet me in an hour?" the voice asked.  
"Where?" Liz asked. She thought she heard something in his voice but felt she was imagining it.  
"At the boat house in the park," Jake said hanging up.  
Liz wondered what this was all about. She thought Jake was back on drugs again.   
"If so I am not giving him any money this time. He will have to deal with it himself," She thought as she drove to the park.  
She put her tape recorder into her pocket and pressed the button onto record.   
"If he is back on drugs I am going to tape it and get him listen to it," she said to herself.   
She walked down the steps towards the lake and went in the direction of the boathouse. She saw Jake sitting on a bench. He looked terrible.  
"What's this all about, Jake?" asked Liz standing in front of the youth.  
"I need you to help me Liz," he whispered frantically.  
"Jake, I'm not going to give you any more money."   
"They are after me."  
"No doubt they are if you owe them money. How much is it this time?" Liz said turning around in disgust.  
"It's not money. Liz, the aliens are after me." Liz turned around sharply and looked at Jake.  
"What?" she exclaimed.  
"I know they are here, doing experiments... they want to invade the planet."  
"Jake, how do you know this?" she asked looking around her.  
"They are doing experiments on me, on teenagers. The club..." Jake was shaking and he was sweating even though it was a cold day. "I know you write for The Paranoid Times. You have to help me."  
"Jake, I have a friend you should talk to. You should tell him. What were they doing to you?" she asked.  
"They were testing how teenagers react to various situations..." Jake stopped suddenly and fell forward. Liz looked in horror as she saw the pool of blood seeping from the gunshot wound to his back. She looked around and thought she saw a flash of light in the bushes. She hid behind a tree and called the police.  
  
********  
  
Cade's Journal Entry  
  
"Quatrain 23, Century 11.  
  
The Messenger's demise in front of The Fair Maiden, Begs the question for the Man Twice Bless'd, why the manipulation of the young tribe, conceals the depth of the pretence  
  
Cincinnati, Ohio. Jake Santos was gunned down in front of Liz Baker yesterday. She called straight after it happened and told us what happened. The aliens were doing some kind of experiments on teenagers. This isn't the first time we have encountered experiments being carried out on teenagers. Teenagers can be more trusting than adults and that is probably why the Gua have decided to experiment on them. Eddie did some research and discovered that a new youth club had been recently formed. Does the club have connections to the Gua? This club seemed to have everything going for it. But I have learned that nothing is ever what it seems. Especially in the fight against the Gua"  
  
  
The following day a man with short brown spiky hair, of medium build, wearing a dark blue shirt and black pants arrived at the building were Jake Santos lived. He took off his sunglasses and scanned the area for anything that looked suspicious. He looked down the nameplates on the wall until he found the one he wanted. He pressed the buzzer and it buzzed letting him in.  
He walked up the stairs, hesitating before he knocked on the door. The door opened. A woman in her 50's answered. She looked grief stricken.  
"Mrs Santos, my name is John Wilson. I'm a reporter for The Standard. I'm sorry about your loss but I was wondering if you could answer a few questions," he said hating the fact that he had to lie to this grieving woman.  
"No, I am tired of answering questions. I answered them to the police, to the newspapers. No..." replied the woman shutting the door.  
Cade sighed knowing how hard it was to have a loved one taken away. He decided to go and talk to Liz.  
He got back into his car and drove to Liz's building.  
He parked the car and walked up to her building.  
He pressed the buzzer on the wall.  
"Who is it?" a voice said.   
Cade recognised Liz's voice. "Liz, it's me!" he said.  
The door opened and he walked to her apartment. He knocked on the door.  
Liz opened the door. Cade looked at her. She looked like she had not slept all night. Her blue eyes were red rimmed and her blonde curly hair was tied back. She hadn't even got dressed even though it was 4.30 in the evening. She was wearing a white bathrobe with a T-shirt and sweat pants underneath.  
"Come in," she said.  
"Are you all right?" he asked concerned.  
"No!" she replied.  
Cade saw the bottle of whiskey on the coffee table.  
"Are you drinking?" he asked.   
"I was just about to get started. Would you like one?" she asked pouring out 2 glasses.  
"Liz..." he started to say sitting down.  
" I'm angry," She said fiercely.  
"I'm angry too," he said.  
"How many more lives... human lives are these bastards going to ruin?" She shouted walking around the room.  
"I don't know," Cade said gently.   
"I have what he said on tape," she said to him.  
"You didn't mention that in your statement to the cops," Cade said.  
"No. I didn't tell them," she replied.  
"Why?"  
"Because it would have made Jake sound like he was on drugs."  
"Did he have a drug problem?" asked Cade.  
"About a year ago he did but all of us at the paper helped him get over the problem." replied Liz.  
Liz took the tape recording out and played it to Cade. He listened in silence to the tape.  
"Go and get dressed. We are going to Eddie's." he said.  
  
An hour later Liz and Cade were in Eddie's trailer. He listened to the tape.  
"What do the Gua have to do with this club that has recently been set up in the city." Eddie mused.  
"I don't know," replied Liz. "I suppose the only way to find out about it is to ask his mother."  
"I already tried talking to her but she wouldn't let me in," Cade said.  
"Well she knows me. I'll go and talk to her," Liz said.  
  
"Elena, can you tell us about the club he was in?" asked Liz after she had commiserated with Jake's mother.  
"He joined it about 6 months ago. It was designed to keep the kids off the street"  
"Where does this club take place?" Cade asked.  
"North and Oak Street," replied Elena.  
"What do you know about this club?" asked Liz.  
"Well they did all kinds of activities. They had just returned from a 2 week camping trip in the mountains."  
"Do you know who ran it?" Liz asked.  
"Well two people called Angela and Gerry. I don't know their last names. The name of the club was "The Great Under Age club".   
Liz and Cade looked at each other.  
"Liz you will find who did this to my son, won't you?" Elena said.  
Liz took the older woman's hand and smiled.  
"Of course I will." she said.  
  
"The Great Under Age Club" Eddie exclaimed after Cade called him to tell him what they found out.  
"Spells out GUA, Eddie. Can you do a background check on this club, find out how they operate, who finances them and more importantly if there are any other clubs like this set up around the country." Cade said into his cell phone.  
"Sure thing, Foster." Eddie said.  
"I am going to check out this club, have a look around and see what is going on. This could be the way the aliens get control of the teenagers. I'll call you later," Cade said hanging up.  
"Can I come with you?" Liz asked.  
"If I said no, would it make any difference?" asked Cade.  
"No, so can I come? I'll go whether you like it or not," she said.  
"Well, I'm not going to sit here and argue about it all night. Come on," Cade said knowing she would find a way. They drove to where the club was. Cade's cell phone rang.  
"Foster, as far as I can make out this club is a pilot program. It has only been set up in Cincinnati but there are plans to make it a national program. The people who run are Angela Matthews and Gerry Greendale. They are part of a youth organisation called "Youth Alliance". This organisation has only been going for about a year and a half. They do all sort of youth activities such as hiking, camping, etc. etc. These people sound like your regular good Samaritans, Foster. It sounds like you are being led up the garden path. On a wild goose chase," Eddie said over his headset.  
"That is what they want us to believe. This organisation will probably get teenagers to join. The kids think it is great. A way off the streets. The aliens will do what ever they do on them. Probably controlling their minds." Cade said.  
"Yeah, but what are the perimeters of the experiment?" asked Eddie.  
"That's what I need to find out," Cade said putting the phone in his pocket. He and Liz got out of the car and walked towards the building.   
"There is a group on tonight. I wonder if I could get an interview with the group leaders," Liz said.  
"Good idea. Try and keep them talking. I am going to do a little B & E around the back."  
"Be careful, Cade," Liz said.  
"You to," Cade said walking around the back.  
  
"Excuse me, I'm Elizabeth Baker from the Ohio Chronicle," Liz said showing a woman in her 30's her press identity card.  
"What can I do for you Miss Baker?" asked the woman.  
"I'm reporting on the death of Jake Santos. I understand he was a member of this club and I was hoping I could get a reaction from you," Liz said.  
"That was a tragedy," replied the woman. "My name is Angela Matthews.   
"He worked at the paper. We are all very shocked at what happened."  
"So are we," replied Angela.  
"Well I'd like to know what you guys do here at the club," Liz said.  
"Well this is a pilot program. If successful we plan to extend it to other inner city areas. It keeps the kids off the street."  
"Why is there such a big attraction?" asked Liz.  
"Well there is the activities as well as the talks that we have, on drug and alcohol abuse, sex education etc. We put them into different situations and see how they react."  
  
While Liz was interviewing Angela, Cade used his thief skills and broke into the back door in the building. He came to the office and picked the lock. He turned on his torch and looked around the room. He saw another door and opened it. He gasped when he saw what was in it. It was a room similar to the one which he encountered in 19 Haven Street in Chicago. The one which gave details of all the individuals in his experiment. There were photographs of at least 30 teenagers with various stats typed onto it. The words "Purged", "Self eliminated" or "In Progress" were stamped on the pages. He knew he couldn't take the pages out as they would only be unreadable. He wrote down some names and left the room. He waited in the car for Liz to come back out. He took out his cell phone and dialled Eddie.  
"Eddie, I found a room like the one that I found in Chicago. Find out about to Cally Morrison, Daniel Evans..." Cade read out a list of names for Eddie to check up on.  
"Eddie, I think this experiment is similar to my own. Finding out how kids react in various situations!" Cade said in disgust.  
"Foster, This is really freaky!"  
"I know. I'm just waiting Liz to come out. She's doing an interview with one of the Leaders. Here she is," he said hanging up the phone. Liz got into the car. Cade told her what he had seen.  
"Well, I have some news. Apparently they have a hiking and camping trip and they are going tomorrow. They were looking for volunteers so I volunteered you and me. I hope you have your hiking boots ready."  
"Good work Liz, What time do they set off?"  
"5.45!"  
Cade groaned when he heard the time. Life as a fugitive did not leave time for having a lie in or getting a good night's sleep. He couldn't remember the last time he had slept in.  
"Well if you want to go you better get some sleep," Liz said. "You can sleep on the couch at my place if you want."  
"Thanks Liz."  
Liz and Cade drove back to her apartment. Liz gave Cade some blankets to use on the couch.   
"I'll call you in the morning." he said. "Good night" Liz said as she walked into her bedroom.  
  
Liz's alarm clock went off at 4.30 the next morning. She groaned and shut it off while turning over in the bed.  
There was a knock on the door. Cade opened it.   
"Wakey, Wakey," he said. He was already fully dressed wearing a grey T-shirt and jeans.  
"Go away!" groaned Liz.  
Cade pulled the blankets off Liz.  
"This was your idea. Get up!" he said.  
Liz got up and walked towards the bathroom.  
"Put some coffee on," she mumbled.  
  
An hour later Liz and Cade were sitting in the car waiting for the group to set off. Liz was wearing a sweater, blue jeans and she had her hair tied up under a baseball cap.  
Cade had called Eddie to let him know where they were going. Eddie being his usual paranoid self told him to be careful and to stay alert.  
  
"Ok, kids I would like to introduce you to Liz Baker and Cade Masters. They will be joining us on our hike for the next couple of days. Say hi everyone," Angela instructed the 10 teenagers standing around.   
"Hi," chorused the kids.  
Cade and Liz said hi.   
"What we are going to do is split the group. You will have responsibility for 5 kids and you have to make sure that you are with your group all the time. Give each kid responsibility for something, carrying the tent, food etc. This is like a survival hike. Make sure they do what you tell them to do," Gerry said to Cade and Liz.  
Gerry told Cade and Liz which kids they were going to have responsibility for and they all got in the van and drove to the mountain.  
  
Three hours later they arrived at the mountain. After sorting out who was responsible for what they set off. Gerry and Angela went off in one direction and Cade and Liz went in another direction.  
  
They were still hiking through the woods a couple of hours later. Even though Cade tried to keep in shape while on the run he was finding it hard going. The kids didn't seem to have any problems.   
"Maybe we should take a break," he said sitting down on a rock taking a drink of water.  
"Wow, for someone who is constantly running around, from the cops and the aliens. You are sure out of shape," Liz teased him.  
"Shut up, Liz!" he said with a small smile.  
The kids saw that the two had stopped and went back.  
"So the adults can't keep up with us!" one of them said. Her name was Jenny.  
"We're taking a half hour break," Caddie said.  
"No, we have to keep going. We have to reach the camp before the others do. Before it is too late!" exclaimed another girl.  
"We've plenty of time, Lesley", Jenny said.  
"No we don't. We can't take any more breaks. We have to get to the camp," Lesley said anxiously.  
"There is no harm in taking a break," Cade said.  
"NO, we have to keep moving," Lesley seemed to be getting more and more agitated.  
"Would you calm down?" one of the boys, Matt, said to her.  
"No. We can't take a break!" she said.  
Liz and Cade looked at each other and wondered what was going on.  
"Lesley, sit down a minute and rest. We can start up again when everyone is rested." Cade said. He had an uneasy feeling about this. He wondered why the girl was getting so agitated. Was this some kind of warped experiment by the Gua?  
"No, I will not rest, we have to keep moving," Lesley said as she started to walk off.  
"Lesley, we need to stay together," one of the other boys, Kenny, said to her.  
"We don't have time to stop. We have to get to the camp," she said walking into the woods.  
"Lesley, come back!" Liz called.  
"Let her go. She'll get over it" replied Jenny watching Lesley go. "She knows the trail. She will be all right. We will catch up with her."  
"Why was she so upset?" asked Cade.  
"She's weird. That's why!" exclaimed Matt.  
"That's enough" Cade said. "We are supposed to be working together, not fighting with each other. We better start off again and try and catch up with her."  
"What about our half hour break," asked Kenny.  
"Liz and I are responsible for what happens to the group. I'm not going to have that girl wandering around the mountains in the state that she is in. Let's go," he said getting up.  
The teenagers grumbled as they picked up their equipment and the group headed off again.  
"I wonder why Lesley was getting so upset?" mused Liz.  
"Didn't Jake say that the experiment was to test the kids reaction to different situations. The last two lines of the quatrain..."  
"The manipulation of the young tribe conceals the depth of the pretence. Maybe the Gua are manipulating the teenagers to react to various stimuli," Liz said.  
"Of course, they manipulated Lesley into thinking that they had to reach the camp before something wrong happens. We better catch up and find her." Cade said. He was alarmed that the Gua were once again experimenting on teenagers.  
"Will these bastards stop at nothing to enslave us" he muttered.  
  
As they walked through the woods they saw no sign of Lesley. Cade and Liz were getting extremely concerned at this stage. They came to a river.   
"The map says that we need to cross here," Cade said to the group. "There's a small footbridge up ahead," he said looking up river. As he did he noticed something in the river the same time Liz did. It was Lesley's jacket hanging off an overhanging tree branch.  
Cade and Liz both pulled their jackets and sweaters off and dived into the river as the other kids watched in horror. They swam out to the jacket. They ducked under water frantically trying to find her. Cade stayed underwater longer than Liz and she had to drag him up.  
"Liz, the river is flowing too fast. She may have been swept down river," he said.  
"No!" cried Liz diving under the water again. Cade grabbed her and had to drag her out of the water.  
"Liz, stop it," he said.  
They both scrambled onto the bank and sat looking out at the river in shock.   
"Lesley knows this area well. She knows the river runs really fast at this part..." Matt said. "She is probably fine"  
"I hope so," Cade said feeling very uneasy about the whole situation. Liz just stared out at the river.  
"Liz, she probably got her jacket caught," he said trying to convince himself as well as her that this was the case. All the same he called Gerry to let him know what had happened. Gerry told him not to worry as Lesley knew the area and would probably turn up at the camp. Cade still didn't feel comfortable about this but he felt that the best thing to do was to keep moving. He walked in front of the teenagers and Liz walked at the back. No one said anything as they were all deep in thought.   
They got to a deep ravine and they all worked together to get down it.   
Two hours later they arrived at a clearing. It was nearly dusk.  
"We may as well set up camp here. It will be dark soon," Cade said putting the equipment down.  
"Ok, I am going to get some water. Jenny, why don't you come with me," Liz said to the 15-year-old.  
"Sure!" said Jenny getting up and following Liz to the river.  
Cade watched as Liz and Jenny walked in the direction of the river. Matt, Kenny and Nancy set about putting up the tent. Cade called Eddie to let him know what was going on.  
"Hey, we can tell ghost stories over the fire," Matt said.   
"No ghost stories, we have already had our fright for one day," Cade said.  
The teenagers soon had the tents up. Cade looked at his watch and realised that Liz and Jenny had been gone for over an hour and a half. He didn't want to panic anyone by saying anything.  
"Jenny and Liz sure are taking a long time," Nancy said.  
"That's what I was thinking," Matt said looking at Cade.  
"They probably got lost in the woods. Did you know these woods are haunted?" Kenny said.  
"Knowing Jenny they are probably bird watching or something," Nancy said.  
"Yeah, Liz likes to fish. That's what they are doing. Fishing for our supper," Cade said trying not to worry.  
Suddenly they heard a rustle in the bushes and saw Liz and Jenny coming into the clearing. They both had fish in their hands. Cade breathed a sigh of relief.  
"We went fishing," Liz said.  
"I was worried," Cade said to her.  
"Sorry, we got carried away. Kenny would you like to clean the fish out," she said handing the fish to Kenny.  
After they had eaten the kids sat around the fire and started to tell ghost stories to each other.   
"I won't be able to sleep now," Nancy said who was the youngest on the trip.  
"I can tell you a really scary story," Kenny said. "It's about aliens that want to invade the planet. They take over our bodies and you can't tell because they look human, and they do all kinds of experiments on us."  
Cade and Liz looked at Kenny as he said this. They didn't know if he was trying to scare the others or if he actually knew about the Gua.  
"Stop it. There's no such things as ghosts or aliens," Nancy said.  
"There is. You can tell who is an alien," Kenny continued.  
"Kenny would you stop it," Jenny said. "Cade will you tell him to stop scaring Nancy with these alien stories of his. He is always going on about them. I think he watches too much of the Sci Fi Channel."  
Cade didn't know what to say.   
"Well I believe that there is some sort of existence out there," he said.  
"These aliens want to invade the planet. They are already here. I could be an alien for all you know, Nancy," Kenny said reaching out to grab her arm causing Nancy to let out a loud scream.  
"Ok, that's enough, Kenny. Give it a rest!" Cade said getting up and taking the boy by the arm.  
Kenny looked at him. There was something in Kenny's eyes that made Cade feel uncomfortable. Could Kenny be a Gua? Kenny laughed and shook his arm away.  
"You know they are here, don't you?" he said to Cade and Liz.  
The other teenagers looked at the two adults.  
"I don't want to frighten anyone but Kenny is right," Cade said cautiously.   
"You are crazy as well," Nancy said shrinking behind Liz.  
"It's ok sweetheart," Liz said to her taking her in her arms.  
"What are you talking about?" asked Jenny.  
"The aliens known as the Gua are here on this planet but they are planning a bigger invasion. They are testing us seeing how we react. This camping trip is a test to see what happens when things go wrong," he said hoping he hadn't totally freaked the kids out.  
"Stop it!" cried Nancy getting up and backing away. She turned and ran into the forest. Liz and Cade ran after her and brought her back.   
"Don't worry. They are not going to invade us tomorrow," Cade said  
"When?" asked Nancy  
"Not for a long time yet," Liz said trying to convince herself and the others that this was true. Truth was they didn't know when the second wave was going to be launched but they had to stop the first wave in order to prevent the invasion.  
  
Everybody slept outside the tents that night as it was a warm enough night. At 7.30 the next morning Kenny and Matt cooked breakfast while the other teenagers packed up the camping equipment.   
They set off an hour and a half later.   
  
The day was getting warmer. Nancy was lagging behind the rest of the group. Liz stopped to help her get over some rocks. It couldn't have been for more than five minutes but when they set off again there was no sign of the others. Cade had the map so she had no idea which direction to go. She tried calling him on the cell phone but there was no reception.  
"We're lost, aren't we?" Nancy said.  
"No, honey. If we keep going in this direction we are sure to meet up with the others soon," Liz said hopefully and they set off again.  
  
Cade and the other teenagers didn't realised that Liz had stopped to help Nancy so they kept walking. He turned to speak to Liz and realised she and Nancy weren't with them.  
  
"Did any one see where Liz and Nancy went?" he asked the other three teenagers.  
"No," Kenny replied.  
"Don't tell me they are lost now," Jenny said.  
"I hope not but we better double back and see if we can meet them," he said walking in the direction they came followed by the other teenagers.  
  
"I think we are going in the wrong direction, Liz," Nancy said.  
"So do I. Do you recognise anything?" Liz asked the girl.  
"No,"  
"Well, if we keep going in this direction we might get to the highway," Liz said.  
"No, I think the highway is that direction," Nancy said pointing in the opposite direction.  
"Are you sure?" asked Liz.  
"Not totally. It's just a guess."   
"Well you've been in these woods before so we will try it out".  
  
Cade and the other teenagers walked as far as the river but there was no sign of Liz or Nancy. He dialled Eddie on the Cell phone.  
"Eddie, Liz and I were separated. We doubled back to see if we could find her but there is so sign of her. I don't know where to go from here."  
Eddie let out a big sigh. This was just another predicament that Foster was always getting into. He was always getting lost in the woods and needed Eddie to tell him where to go. He pulled up the map of the mountain on the computer screen.  
"Where are you?" he asked.  
"By a waterfall. I am not sure where we got separated but I think we should get back to the start position and wait but I have no idea in which direction to go,"  
Eddie looked at the map on the computer screen.   
"Ok, head east along the river. You should come to a bridge. Cross the bridge and then head north. The start position should be about five miles from that point,"  
"Thanks Eddie," Cade said.  
"And Foster..." Eddie was about to tell him something else when he realised that Cade had hung up on him once more. This really annoyed Eddie.  
Eddie was just about to take his headset off when it rang again. He saw on the caller ID that it was Liz. He answered it.  
"Eddie, Cade and I were separated and we are lost now. I have no idea where to go," Liz said.  
"Cade just called. They are heading back to the start position. Where are you?" he asked.  
"On a ridge above a rock quarry. There is a railway line to my right," Liz said.  
"Ok, head north east along the railway line. You should come to a small clearing. When you come to that go east. That should take you to the river, keep following the river till you come to a bridge. Head north after that. You should meet up with Foster then. Oh and tell Foster" Eddie heard the dial tone over the headset and realised that Liz had hung up on him as well.  
"Dammit, now she's hanging up on me now!" he muttered to himself.  
  
Cade followed the directions that Eddie had given him and it took less than an hour to get back to the start position. He and the other teenagers sat on the picnic table waiting for the others to come back. Cade had tried calling Gerry on the cell phone but the signal wasn't picking up. He wondered why he could call Eddie and not Gerry or Liz.  
There was a rustle in the bushes and Cade looked up to see Gerry and Angela coming over to them. He stood up.  
"What's going on?" he asked.  
"This was an experiment to see how people react in various situations, when things go wrong. It is especially useful to see what would happen if we were to launch the second wave. We knew who you were from the moment we saw you. We have been tracking you through the woods to see how you handled yourself in difficult moments," Gerry said taking out a gun. The teenagers looked on in shock as all this occurred. They hid in the bushes and watched what was going on.  
"Where are the other kids?" asked Cade.  
"They disappeared like Lesley," Angela said.  
"What did you do them. Did you kill them.. like Jake?" asked Cade.  
"They discovered who we are. We had to eliminate them," Gerry said.  
"How many?" asked Cade in disgust,  
"The number is not important," Gerry said. "What's important is that you are registered with the Assembly for capture and dissection and we are going to get a reward for bringing you in."  
"Other's have tried before and failed," Cade said.  
"Well we don't plan on failing this time, Foster." Angela said.  
"Sorry to disappoint," Cade said.  
"Put the gun down or we will be forced to kill you"  
"Do it then. You won't find out the location of the book and that is what the Assembly really want now isn't it?" Cade said.  
"Yes the location of the book would be productive to our plans but we also want to see what makes you tick," Angela said.  
"We are wasting time here, Angela." Gerry said.  
  
Liz had made her way to the start position when she heard the voices. She realised what was going on. She told Nancy to stay where she was and she crept up to the bushes behind Gerry and Angela. She listened to what was being said. She looked around and saw a tree branch lying on the ground. She picked it up and silently moved out of the bushes and hit Angela with it. Angela knocked it to the ground but Liz jumped her and hit her.   
While this was going on Cade had knocked the gun out of Gerry's hand and punched him in the face. Cade grabbed the gun and shot him causing Gerry to dissolve. Cade then turned the gun on Angela and shot her as well watching as she dissolved into nothing.  
"Nice work, Liz. Have you been practising how to jump on people?" he asked helping Liz off the ground knowing that she hated guns or violence of any kind.  
"All in a day's work," she smiled.  
"We better get back to town," he said.  
The kids came out of the bushes stunned at what had just occurred. Suddenly there was a shout and Lesley and the other 5 teenagers came out of the bushes.  
"What happened to you guys?" asked Cade.  
"We managed to escape from them. They thought we were dead," Lesley said.  
"Well all in all I think this was a very eventful camping expedition" Kenny said. "Do you all believe me about the aliens now,"  
"Kenny, shut up!" chorused the teenagers.  
  
The following day Liz, Cade and the rest of the group attended Jake's funeral. The teenagers had promised to spread the word about the alien invasion to the rest of the club.  
  
"So Liz, where did you learn to jump someone like that?" asked Cade when they were sitting in Eddie's trailer after the funeral.  
"That is a secret!" smiled Liz.   
"So are you some kind of secret martial arts expert cum journalist?" teased Eddie.  
"You never know. You may not be the only one who is twice blessed around here," Liz laughed looking at Cade who looked uncomfortable as he always did when someone called him that.  
"By the way, I am not happy with the pair of you hanging up on me yesterday," Eddie began to say only to have a flurry of pillows and squeaky toys thrown at him.  
  
The teenagers decided to keep the club going in memory of Jake and the other teenagers who weren't lucky to survive the experiment. They were also going to use it as a way of getting the message about the invasion across. The invasion is becoming all the more real to us. But as recent investigations have shown us sometimes people will believe us and sometimes they don't. I wonder what will happen to those who refuse to believe the unbelievable. Reality will rear its ugly head if we can't stop the Invasion and they will be forced to believe. I only pray that we can stop the first wave to prevent this from happening.  
  
  
  



End file.
